Israel v. Lebanon, don't stop...

At least, that's how Condi feels.

Rice met with other world leaders to discuss plans on how to broker peace between Israel and Lebanon. European and Arab leaders, rightly, called for an immediate cease-fire. Condi stubbornly opposed any "temporary" cease-fire, saying, "[i]t doesn’t do anyone any good to raise false hopes about something that’s not going to happen... the fields of the Middle East are littered with broken cease-fires."

How can you expect both sides to rationally, reasonably hammer out their differences WHILE they are still kicking each other's asses? Well... to be fair, Lebanon is not kicking ass yet - Hezbollah is. However, we will never see a cease-fire as long as Condi is not even willing to INVOLVE THEM in a peace process that directly involves them. It's all about the "meet our demands, and then we'll stop" attitude (which I haven't seen since grade school) with these people. Condi - and, by proxy, anyone in the Bush cabal that agrees with her - is clearly insane. This will never work without INCREASED danger of terrorism.

This could also be part of an "October surprise," as the Republicans are seeing the writing on the wall for their Congressional campaigns. Another terrorist attack on U.S. soil? Arabs and Persians v. Israelis and Americans? If they keep the brutality (of both sides) going on in this conflict long enough, it is GOING to put everyone's lives in steadily-increasing danger.

The humanitarian corridor has opened, but that didn't stop Israel from blowing up a truck carrying medical supplies and food from the United Arab Emirates. It also seems more and more like they were intentionally taregting the UN peacekeepers from yesterday's post - the missile that struck the building was precision guided, and reports are that the peacekeepers had told the Israelis they were there when Israeli artillery fire came close to them days earlier.

We are NOT safe with the Bush cabal in power.

-R.